a l c h e m y ☽•☾ The qualities of the fae queen enfleshed. Sandalwood and rose intoxicate the senses while patchouli luxuriates beneath the moon's skeletal light. Ylang's soft claws tiptoe over the entire dermis, leaving a trail of yellow pollen for a therapy that rejuvenates and stirs the blush. Like gossamer wings, Moroccan rose otto flutters at the ethereal level. Queen Mab draws on energies from the earth to the stars. You may recall years back I had a Queen Mab balm; she was concentrated with essential oils at 2%. This version of the perfume has over a 50% concentration and is boosted by a compounding of each of the four elements in the form of in house enfleurage, and aged and perfumer curated absolutes and essential oils from places dear to my heart and imagination:
Ylang ylang (Cananga odorata):
- Essential oil from Papua, aged 5 years. Notes of jackfruit, orange honeysuckle, pineapple esters.
- Absolute from Vietnam, aged 7 years. Notes of custard, Gros Michel bananas, rum.
- Essential oil from Thailand, aged 9 years. Notes of mango, taro pudding, carrots in aldehyde form.
- Essential oil from Indonesia, aged 3 years. Notes of ripe bananas, banana bread pudding, raisins soaked in brandy, jungle humus.
- Essential oil from Indonesia, aged 5 years. Notes of Manzano banana (apple banana), pistachio spoom.
- Absolute from the Philippines, aged 5 years. Notes of soursop, raspberry custard apple, rubber, and raspberry coulis.
- Essential oil (“rose otto”) from Morocco, aged 11 years. Notes of bitter orange, black pepper, pink velvet petals.
- Essential oil (“rose otto”) from Bulgaria, aged 11 years. Notes of my grandmother’s vanity, hyacinth, garden soil, powder, and lavender.
- Absolute from Morocco, aged 4 years. Notes of pear shaved ice, frozen grapes, myrrh.
- Absolute from Egypt, aged 7 years. Notes of fir pitch, wild strawberries, rhubarb compote, raspberry paste.
- Essential oil of Santalum album from Mysore, India, aged 10 years. Notes of popcorn, buttermilk, and Bahamian white ambergris.
- Essential oil of Santalum album from Mysore, India, aged 9 years. Notes of red sheep’s milk cheese, fresh clover, cotton.
- In house absolute of Santalum album from Mysore, India, aged 7 years. Notes of creamy wood shavings, dark rich ship oil.
- Essential oil of Santalum austrocaledonicum from Vanuatu, aged 9 years. Notes of eastern white cedar leaves (Thuja occidentalis), hojari frankincense drops, sweet incense tree (Sarcocaulon mossamedense).
- In house absolute of Santalum haleakalae from Maui, aged 6 years. Notes of vetiver, sweet potato skin, mayonnaise, and green butter.
- Essential oil of Santalum haleakalae from Lānaʻi, aged 9 years. Notes of tuberose, coconut cream, butterfly ginger flowers.
- Essential oil of Santalum haleakalae from Molokaʻi, aged 2 years. Notes of green tea, freshly and roughly hewn wood, honey.
- Essential oil of Santalum spicatum from the Swan Coastal Plain of Western Australia, aged 8 years. Notes of coastal scrub, brine, wood soaked in brackish water, Borneo camphor, wet campfire.
- Essential oil from Borneo, aged 5 years. Notes of menthol, tar crystals, reptilian skin, salicylic acid salts.
- Essential oil from Haiti, aged 10 years. Notes of tobacco, green water, jaggery.
- Essential oil from New Guinea, aged 9 years. Notes of the wet armpits of banana leaves, tropical undergrowth.
- Essential oil from Sri Lanka, aged 6 years. Notes of coffee grounds, civet, coffee cherries, coffee flowers, mountain fog.
- Essential oil from India, aged 10 years. Notes of sawdust, petrichor, cracked mud flats.
- Essential oil from Bali, aged 3 years. Notes of sandalwood, elephant dermis, jungle dirt, dinosaur saliva.
- Essential oil from Cambodia, aged 7 years. Notes of Cambodian agarwood funk, prehistoric mist.
- In house absolute from open pollinated plant grown from seed in the Wild Veil perfume gardens, aged 8 years. Notes of chocolate foil wrapper, bittersweet cacao, root beer.
Photos: Queen Mab hibiscus in the Wild Veil volcano garden; solid perfume in 5ml and 10ml black violet glass jars; liquid perfume in 5ml and 10ml black violet glass roller ball bottles; liquid perfume in 5ml amber glass apothecary bottle with orifice reducer.
r a w ☽•☾ m a t t e r
Wild Veil natural perfumes are composed by me, Abby, using homemade, wildcrafted and organic aromatics in Vermont. These include my handmade enfleurage, tinctures, enfleurage extraits, absolutes, resinoids and concretes, and floral waxes. I spend as much time growing plants and foraging as I do composing perfumes.
h o w ☽•☾ t o ☽•☾ w e a r
The best way to experience a natural perfume is to apply it to well-moisturized skin, without rubbing in (absorption only shortens the wear time of fragrance) and without scrubbing off. Natural perfumes are dynamic and take a minimum of 2 hours to reach their final stage, or dry down. Enjoy the alchemical changes as they unfold from the initial intensity of top notes, to the warmth of the heart, to the depth of lower base notes.
☽•☾ Wild Veil ☽•☾ alchemy between earth and ether ☽•☾
☽•☾ All aesthetic material copyright Abby Hinsman 2024 ☽•☾